Sindh demands federal utilities clear poles from road projects
Sharjeel Inam Memon says HESCO and SEPCO were paid to shift electricity poles but the installations remain, including in Sukkur where payment was made five years ago
Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has demanded that utility agencies he described as federally controlled immediately relocate installations standing in the way of road construction and expansion in the province, saying the work is being held up by their failure to act.
In a statement, Memon said HESCO and SEPCO had already been paid for the relocation of electricity poles on roads, but the poles had not been removed. He said payment for removing poles in Sukkur was made five years ago and they are still standing.
Memon named HESCO, SEPCO, K-Electric, Sui Southern Gas and other utility organisations as bodies that must fulfil their responsibilities. The Sindh government, he said, is putting substantial funds into development projects, and the delay in shifting installations is preventing those projects from being completed.
Poles left on roads obstruct traffic and cause accidents, Memon said, and other utility installations are likewise blocking construction and widening work. He described the failure to move poles and other infrastructure after compensation had been paid as incomprehensible.
He said one of the main reasons the Red Line project was delayed was the slow relocation of utility installations and poles to alternative sites. Moving electricity, gas and other utility infrastructure that obstructs development projects is the responsibility of the agencies that own it, he said.
Memon said the Sindh government was taking all necessary measures to complete projects in the public interest and urged the federal agencies to do their part so that development work in the province is not held up. He called on the authorities concerned to finish relocating poles and other infrastructure on the roads immediately.
The statement did not say what deadline, if any, the provincial government had set for the relocations, and no response from HESCO, SEPCO, K-Electric or Sui Southern Gas was reported.
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